This one comes down to whether you’ll use the extras. The Shark SpeedStyle is about $200 and gives you a fast, light dryer with the same four heat and three speed settings as the Dyson. The Dyson Supersonic Nural is about $450 and adds five attachments plus sensors that turn the heat down near your scalp. If you dry long or thick hair most days, the Dyson can earn its price. If you mostly blow dry with a concentrator, the Shark does the job. And the Shark HyperAIR? It’s gone from Shark’s US store, so the SpeedStyle is the one to compare now.
Side by side
| Feature | Dyson Supersonic Nural | Shark SpeedStyle (HD301) |
| Price (changes often) | About $450 | About $200 |
| Settings | 4 heat, 3 speed, plus a cold shot | 4 heat, 3 airflow |
| Heat control | Dyson says it monitors airflow to hold an optimal temperature; Scalp protect mode lowers heat as the dryer nears your head | Shark says it measures and regulates temperature 1,000 times a second |
| Power | 1,600 W | 1,700 W |
| Weight, per the brand | 1.8 lb | About 1.7 lb |
| In the box | Five magnetic attachments: Styling concentrator, Flyaway attachment, Wave+Curl diffuser, Gentle air attachment, Wide-tooth comb | Dryer and Turbo Concentrator; diffuser, brushes and comb sold separately |
| Smart features | Scalp protect, Pause detect, Attachment learning | Adjusts settings to the styler you attach |
| Warranty | 2-year limited | 2-year limited |
Prices for both move around, so treat them as rough.
What the Dyson Supersonic Nural is
The Dyson Supersonic Nural is the newest top model of the dryer that started the high-speed craze. The motor sits in the handle. The ring-shaped head, Dyson says, pulls in the air around it to triple the airflow. Dyson rates that airflow at 13.3 liters a second.
“Nural” is the name for its sensors. Scalp protect mode lowers the heat as the dryer gets close to your head. Pause detect notices when you put the dryer down mid-style, then cuts the heat and drops the airflow and noise until you pick it up. Attachment learning knows which magnetic attachment is on and goes back to the settings you used with it last time. A small window in the end cap turns from blue to red to show the heat setting.
The box is generous. You get a Styling concentrator, a Flyaway attachment for smoothing dry, straight hair, a Wave+Curl diffuser with two modes, a Gentle air attachment and a Wide-tooth comb. Dyson says to clean the filter once a month. Our Dyson Supersonic review explains the more-air, less-heat idea and who it pays off for.
What the Shark SpeedStyle is
The Shark SpeedStyle Essential (HD301) is Shark’s compact high-speed dryer. This is the most basic kit, just the dryer and a Turbo Concentrator for smoothing. Shark calls it the lightest leading digital hair dryer, at about 1.7 pounds.
Shark’s heat claim is about how often it checks, not a temperature limit. It says the SpeedStyle measures and adjusts its temperature 1,000 times a second. It also changes its settings on its own when you click on one of Shark’s SpeedStyle stylers.
Those stylers are the catch. The DefrizzFast diffuser, QuickSmooth brush, RapidGloss finisher, wide-tooth comb and touch-up brush each cost about $30 to $32 on Shark’s site. Add up the ones you’d actually use.
Drying speed
It’s the first thing everyone asks, and neither brand gives a number of minutes. Dyson calls the Supersonic Nural fast drying and lists its airflow. Shark says the SpeedStyle goes from wet to dry ultra-fast. That’s all you get.
What you can compare is how they work. Both use fast air and controlled heat instead of a scorching element, so your hair spends less time under hot air. Wattage won’t settle it. The Shark is rated at 1,700 watts and the Dyson at 1,600, but that number tells you what the dryer pulls from the wall, not how fast your hair dries.
Long, thick hair is where a fast dryer earns its money. If your hair is short and fine and already dries in a few minutes, there isn’t much time to win back.
Weight and feel in the hand
On paper there’s barely a gap. Dyson lists the Nural at 1.8 pounds and Shark lists the SpeedStyle at about 1.7. Both put the motor in the handle, so the weight sits in your palm instead of out at the nozzle. If tired arms are your main complaint, look at the Laifen Swift below. Laifen lists it at under a pound without the cord.
Attachments
Here’s where the Dyson’s price shows up most. Five attachments come in the box, covering smooth blowouts, curls and coils, gentle drying and flyaways. The Shark comes with one concentrator. Want to diffuse curls or do a brush-style blowout? You’ll need the DefrizzFast diffuser or the QuickSmooth brush, and the pair adds about $60.
Even then the Shark is cheaper. With those two extras it’s about $260, against about $450 for the Dyson. The attachments narrow the gap, but they don’t close it.
Heat control
Both brands say their dryer prevents heat damage. Dyson says the Supersonic watches airflow to hold the right temperature, and the Nural adds Scalp protect mode near your roots. Shark points to its 1,000 checks a second. Those are the makers’ claims, and controlled heat is still heat, so use a heat protectant with either one. Our heat protectant guide sorts them by type.
Dyson also lists negative ions to cut static. Our ionic vs ceramic vs tourmaline breakdown explains why that’s a small extra, not the reason a dryer works.
Noise
Neither dryer comes with a decibel number. Dyson says the Supersonic Origin’s motor is tuned to a pitch you can’t hear. The Nural’s Pause detect also quiets things down when you set it down, which matters more than you’d think during a long blowout done in sections. If quiet is high on your list, Laifen is the brand that gives a figure. It says the Swift averages 59 dB in outside testing.
Price, and who should pay for the Dyson
The Shark SpeedStyle HD301 is about $200 and the Dyson Supersonic Nural about $450, a gap of roughly $250. The Dyson is worth that to someone who dries long, thick or color-treated hair most days. She wants the diffuser and smoothing tools without buying them one by one, and she likes a dryer that eases off at the scalp. With that much use, the cost per blowout drops fast.
For a lighter routine, the Shark does the main job with the same heat and speed settings. If you blow dry three times a week with a concentrator and a round brush, the extra $250 buys things you’ll rarely touch.
What else to consider
Dyson Supersonic Origin
The stripped-back Supersonic, without the Nural sensors. Dyson lists it at 0.68 kg, about 1.5 lb, with 13 liters a second of airflow and a Styling concentrator.
Laifen Swift
Laifen says it runs a 110,000 rpm brushless motor, weighs 0.89 lb without the cord and averages 59 dB. Our Supersonic review names it as the dupe.
Prices move constantly, so we link to live listings instead of printing a number that is wrong by the time you read it. Links go to Amazon, which is where a referral gets credited.
The Origin is for someone who wants the Dyson build and airflow but doesn’t care about sensors. It’s about $50 less than the Nural. The Laifen makes sense when weight and price matter more than a box of attachments.
Which dryer fits your hair
If your hair is long or thick and you blow dry five days a week, get the Dyson Supersonic Nural. You’ll use the attachments, and the time you save adds up fastest on that much hair.
If you blow dry a few times a week with a concentrator and a round brush, get the Shark SpeedStyle. It does the part you use, for about $250 less.
If your hair is curly or coily and you diffuse, compare like for like. The Dyson includes the Wave+Curl diffuser, and the Shark’s DefrizzFast diffuser is about $32 extra. The Shark still comes out cheaper.
If your scalp gets uncomfortable under a dryer, the Dyson’s Scalp protect mode is what sets it apart. Nothing in the Shark kit does that.
If your arms give out halfway through, try the Laifen Swift first. At under a pound, it’s the lightest of the four here.
If your hair is short and fine, keep your money. Any decent dryer gets you dry in minutes, and a round brush will do more for the finish.
FAQ
What happened to the Shark HyperAIR?
The HyperAIR was Shark’s earlier high-speed dryer, the one people used to put up against the Supersonic. Shark’s US store now lists the SpeedStyle line instead, so that’s what we compare here. If you already own a HyperAIR that works, there’s no reason to replace it.
Is the Shark SpeedStyle a dupe for the Dyson Supersonic?
It’s close where it counts. It’s a compact high-speed dryer with the motor in the handle, heat control and the same four heat and three speed settings. But it has no scalp sensor or pause feature, and it comes with one attachment to the Dyson’s five. In exchange, it costs less than half as much.
Which one dries hair faster?
Neither brand gives a drying time, so there’s no fair number to compare. Your hair’s length and thickness will change the result more than the gap between these two.
Can you use Dyson attachments on the Shark, or the other way around?
No. Each brand’s attachments only fit its own dryers. Dyson’s Nural attachments even carry magnetic IDs so the dryer knows which one is on.
Is the Supersonic worth it over the Shark?
If you dry long or thick hair most days and will use the diffuser and smoothing tools, yes, it’s a fair price per use. If you dry a few times a week with a concentrator, the Shark covers that for about $250 less. Our Dyson Airwrap vs Shark FlexStyle comparison asks the same question about air stylers.
Bottom line
These two share more than the price gap suggests, from the fast air to the two-year warranty. What the Dyson adds is a full set of attachments and sensors that protect your scalp and pause the dryer for you. That’s worth about $250 to someone who dries a lot of hair often. Everyone else can buy the Shark, pick up the one attachment they need and keep the change. There’s more in our hair archive.
